Thursday, April 28, 2011

BABY BLOC

After pepper spraying a family in Portland, a police officer said, "That’s why you shouldn't bring kids to protests." Blaming the victim is the standard defense for political violence. Kids and parents should be safe at legal rallies because protests shouldn't be cordoned off, ordered to disperse without time or a place to go, and attacked.

At least one woman had a miscarriage after the WTO demonstrations in Seattle in 1999. I told somebody about this and they got angry saying, “Anybody who goes into a situation like that while they're pregnant is irresponsible!” But she was a local resident who's neighborhood was invaded by police using tear gas. Who was responsible for that?

Pondering these events, and helping raise twin radical toddlers, I contacted the family that got pepper sprayed in Portland and offered to bring our kids if they ever held a protest against the way they were treated. It felt good to talk about my anger and the fear of kids being hurt at political events.